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[bridgetnshane]

How do I handle a untamed 1 n half year old veild chameleon(with my hands). He has no use in being held, touched and so forth. Let me tell you about weebo he's free ranged when ever he wants. he thinks he owns the house basically lol but that needs to change. Anywho do they bite from the front or side and does it hurt. I need to know

 

[rotadennis]

I don't have much experience as seeing as how i'm pretty new to chameleon ownership, but I have been crawling these forums nonstop to get all the information I can, but from what I've learned and it's the reason I didn't go with a veiled chameleon is that they have more of a temperament more so than say a panther chameleon (which is what I chose to purchase myself). I've seen videos though of plenty of tamed veiled chameleons, but from what I do understand is that at a year and a half old is that they're almost pretty much set in their ways by then. You need to start them young and build their trust up. I've been handling my chameleon at least once a day by scooping him up out of his cage whether he likes it or not as quick as possible though to not stress him out in the process as much. If I see him buried in the foliage where it would be hard to scoop him I decide to wait since it would take more time and more effort which would most likely stress him out even more, but once I do scoop him up I just let him chill out and he usually just climbs up on top of my head and i'll hold a hornworm or i'll grab a cricket by the butt end and he'll usually just pick them out of my hand. (I think I got lucky because he started to hand feed not even 24 hours after I got him, but this is probably due to from where I purchased him and his age so he was already used to it)...Now in your case I'd assume you'd just need a lot of patience and maybe spend as much time as possible near him or the enclosure. Try to "invade" his territory, but without disturbing him. (Put your hand in the enclosure, but don't attempt to pick up). I've also saw someone suggest that you get them to associate you with feeding time. I've seen people have a separate bin where they feed their chameleons so every feeding them they have to scoop their chameleon out of their enclosure and relocate them to another bin to feed and what that does is get them to associate you with feeding time. It's all about building trust with chameleons, but like I said I don't know much and I'm still going through the process myself, but everything I seem to be doing seems to be working. I'll literally grab my cham he'll climb on top of my head and i'll just raise a cricket or worm near my head and he lights up like a rainbow and chows down. I hope to get him tame enough one day where he'll see me coming and just wanna climb out.

 

[bridgetnshane]

He is use to my hand being around his environment. He hands feeds he's just not use to me picking him up or touching him that's what I'm trying to do. I want to just swoop him up like you do but I'm scarred of him biting or when's he is on me that he will attack. Im not saying he will but I'm more scared of him then he is me. Which it should be opposite but he is use to my trust and everything else but knowing it's ok to climb on me or let me pick him up occasionally

 

[Sticktongue]

Chameleons in general, are look but don't touch animals. Lots of them do not want to be handled and do not tolerate it. Since he already hand feeds, you could try coaxing him out and onto your arm, but if he's serious about not wanting to go out I wouldn't force him.

 

[bridgetnshane]

I know this, I don't bother him much especially when he does not want to be. He free ranges a lot but when's he's on top on the window (curtains) or somewhere else and it's time yo.go back in his cage i want to get him by hands not a plastic hanger. Lol and the point is I'm frightened to touch him. Idk how he bites I need help with handling him onto me

 

[RandellTheCham]

Ive had trouble with my male chameleon. Everyone says they a look but dont touch but i think thats pathetic! At some point we need the ability to be able to hold the chameleon of something happens or of they are ill.

Anyway when i first got my chameleon he hated me but with alot of time and effort he now tolerates me. Ill explain what i did.

1) i spent alot of time just talking to him with his cage open. Chameleon pick up vibrations in your voice.

2) i leave my chameleon cage open and drag a plant/tree infront of the cage and he climbed out slowly while i walk around and doing what i do in my rook.

3) offer him his favourate treat if he climbs onto you. What i did was showed my chameleon a wax worm and he gets excited. I then slowly place my hand by his legs and show him the wax worm he then climbs onto me and takes it

4) if you chameleon hand feeds your half way there. If he doesn't hand feed him this will build trust.

5) once the chameleon knows you mean no harm he will be confortable with your hands in his cage. So what i did was call his name and placed my hand in his cage just so he knows im here and not going to hurt him.

The best way to tame a chameleon is food, food is everything to them. Also let them come to you never make them feel like they have too.

Goodluck

(This is what i did, im also new to chaneleon ownership)

 

[jajeanpierre]

How do I handle a untamed 1 n half year old veild chameleon(with my hands). He has no use in being held, touched and so forth. Let me tell you about weebo he's free ranged when ever he wants. he thinks he owns the house basically lol but that needs to change. Anywho do they bite from the front or side and does it hurt. I need to know

@bridgetnshane , in a nutshell, you handle a big veiled very very carefully. Yes they can bite. Yes it hurts. Some species of chameleons bite and release, others bite and hold on like a bulldog, even sawing back and forth as they bite down. I have never been bitten by my big cranky veiled but I have seen him bite off pieces of wood from the branch I have used to get him out of his cage.

I disagree with the above poster @rotadennis that you can build a relationship and tame chameleons. I don't believe you can build trust with a chameleon in any way we humans think of as "trust building." I don't think they can think that way.

You can habituate a chameleon to your presence. They can learn what to expect from you. This is not trust; this is an animal that is learning to operate successfully in its environment.

Chameleons have very little social interaction with other members of their own species except when breeding and fighting over territory or resources such as potential mates. If they do not have any maternal instincts or social structure, I find it very hard to imagine they would be capable of giving over their sense of self to another creature that isn't even their own species.

I think true trust requires chameleons to possess a "Theory of the Mind."

Theory of the mind is the ability to attribute thoughts, beliefs, desires, intents, etc., to another. That's very advanced, high level thinking. It is about recognizing another as unique and capable of having their own separate beliefs and knowledge. Not all humans possess this ability, even without brain damage.

There is work being done in neuroscience to locate (in the human brain) the brain structures that are involved in theory of the mind. Of course the human and mammalian brain are structured very differently from a reptilian brain. That's a given.

What happens most times when pet owners talk about "trust" is that the chameleon has learned what behavior to expect from their keeper. They make a decision of what they are prepared to risk/tolerate for some reward. A wild squirrel that takes food out of your hand doesn't trust you--the squirrel is making a risk/benefit calculation and choosing that the reward is worth the risk.

I have a large collection of wild caught chameleons, captured as adults. All except one or two hand fed shortly after import. They do no trust me. Some become fairly "tame" and in general don't appear to feel threatened or fear in my presence, even though their limited interactions with me might be quite traumatic (catching them up and medicating them, for example). Others remain very uncomfortable in my presence, even if not subjected to traumatic events such as medicating.

Tolerance of human presence often is more related to the individual temperament of the animal than anything the owner does.

I think many people mistake an animal that allows the presence of their keeper with trust. For example, I have chickens that will come running when they see me and gather around my feet hoping for goodies. They absolutely do not trust me. If I reach down to touch one, they run away from my hand. If I reach down with a goodie, they run to my hand. But, they do not trust me. They will always always always defer to their natural survival instincts. Chameleons are the same way.

Many on this forum will attack my position with suggestions that I haven't a clue about chameleon behavior or possibilities because I don't try to make them tame. They claim I am a "breeder" with a "breeder mentality" as if as a breeder I am somehow uncaring of the welfare of my own chameleons and chameleons in general. I am proud of my husbandry and the life I give my animals and take those kinds of attacks personally.

I will answer that charge by saying that what behavior one sees might not be what is actually happening internally within the chameleon.

For example, I recently took a newly imported wild caught to the vet. He was very calm and relaxed looking, sitting quietly on my hand or the edge of the travel box allowing the vet to examine him without once struggling or trying to escape. His appearance was one of being tame and unafraid. There is no possible way he could have been unafraid unless he was brain dead. Just because an animal appears calm does not mean there isn't tremendous stress happening inside the animal.

Learned helplessness is a behavior exhibited by an organism when it fails to attempt to avoid aversive stimuli. It has learned that no matter what it does, it cannot avoid the aversive. These aversive stimuli can be quite painful--you can have dogs lying quietly on a metal plate as they are being constantly shocked with electricity. They just shut down.

Remember stress kills chameleons not immediately, but by suppressing their immune system. I think it is no coincidence that many who advocate trying to make their chameleon tame and able to be handled have chameleons that live fairly short unhealthy lives. There are people on this site revered by many who can't seem to keep the vast majority of their animals alive past a few years of age despite extensive veterinary intervention.

I know my position is not popular. Most people who have their first chameleon desperately want a relationship with their chameleon. I get that, but perpetuating the myth that they can be made pets that have any kind of emotional attachment to you only hurts them in the long run.

Enjoy your feisty veiled and work around any aggression he shows but don't be disappointed if you are never able to handle him without having to set things up so you don't get hurt and he doesn't get too overwhelmed.